Southern Soul Now! CD

A sampler for some of the modern urban soul artists handled by Mardi Gras Records out of New Orleans, Southern Soul Now! is somewhat of a disappointment, since little here rises above the ordinary, and given all the sampled beats and other hip-hop nation techniques applied to the backing tracks, some actual soulful singing would have been a nice addition to the mix. The label may be based in New Orleans, but this stuff sounds like it could have been recorded in Anywhere, U.S.A. A few tracks manage to have some impact, like the opening cut, "Get out of Town" by Snatch Nelson, Willie B.'s "Dr Jealous & Mrs. Hater," and Nathaniel Kimble's "U Don't Want to Be Loved," but most of what is here slips out of mind as soon as the track winds down, and sometimes even before that. ~ Steve Leggett